Sex Toys in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Sex toys have held a place in society since the ancient Greeks.  They have had times of prosperity and times of shun.  Here I will talk about sex toys in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Although sex toys and any literature that related to sexuality during the Victorian Era was considered extremely taboo, this era showed a great jump forward in sex toy 'technology'.  Butt plugs, rubber dildos and even the first vibrators were introduced to us during the mid nineteenth century.  Not only did new toys make it to the public but the sex toys that had been around for so long got a big boost in comfort and sanitation.

Not only were there sex toys to be used at home in place but there were spas that offered there 'services' through water jet massages and steam-powered vibrating devices.  Men and women alike would go to these spas under the guise of 'medicinal treatments'.

There was an illness that was incredibly popular to diagnose during the 1800's, but only women were affected by it and it had a treatment that led to a steep increase in sex toy usage, especially vibrators.  The illness was called Hysteria, from the Greek word 'hystera' meaning Uterus.  I won't go into details on what caused Hysteria but I will state that pelvic massaging by doctors was the standard treatment until the invention of vibrators.  This caused a rapid increase in vibrator sales and use as they were prescribed by doctors and used 'medicinally'.  And although Hysteria is no longer a recognized illness its effects on the popularity of vibrators can be easily seen.

Electricity eventually became common in middle class homes and thus vibrators were able to be purchased and used privately, to treat Hysteria of course.  In the early 1900's you could find vibrators in Sears' catalogs and by the 1930's advertisements for sex toys were very common place.  This saw the beginning of the end of sex toys only being used medicinally.

During the era of 'free love', specialized retail stores and magazines started popping up, providing a wide variety of sex toys to the public.  These days you can get sex toys in almost every town in America or through one of the many online retail stores.

Sex toys continue to gain popularity as people become more and more open to variety in their sex lives.  Men especially have seen a great jump in acceptable use of sex toys.  For many years it was generally thought that only single, lonely men or homosexuals would use a sex toy, especially one that is meant for anal use.  However, every day that passes more and more men realize that anal play can be very fulfilling and pleasurable.

There are sex toys other than the standard dildo, butt plug and vibrator that are also becoming more common in the standard household.  These are role playing items such as costumes, and BDSM gear, such as simple nipple clamps.  A very common form of BDSM is light bondage, using restraining devices and masks to provide variety in couples' sex lives.